Following my Heart: Part 3

Right after we got married, my husband and I had to get ready for a traveling life. My husband had been offered a job that would entail traveling throughout the USA. We felt so adventurous when we gave up our appartment in Manhattan and most of our belongings!

I vividly remember that feeling of freedom: leaving all that we belong behind, and just take off like that. Just him, me and 2 suitcases....Weeeeeee!!!

Toronto, Canada - Chicago, Illinois

The very first city we traveled to was Toronto in Canada. Just like in Manhattan, there were a lot of high rise buildings and just like in Manhattan, I felt so small in Toronto!

I spent many hours walking up and down Yong Street, wandering through the underground pathway malls, going to the Farmers Market building and figuring out how the transportation system was set up.

Everything was so incredibly foreign to me... I have to admit, I was kind of intimidated... I found everything to be SO BIG!

After a month it was time to travel to Chicago.

Again, everything seemed so incredibly big to me; the streets, the malls, the buildings... just everything. Like a little scared mouse, I would carefully walk the streets of Chicago. I was so incredibly shy and had to get used to the way people were and talked to each other.

I was so happy to see that downtown Chicago was adorned with flowers that reminded me of home: tulips!

It was in this town that I started to take pictures of the things that would catch my eye. And I was especially visually interested in some sort of patterns like these:

Not knowing why I was so visually interested in those images, I did not think about it and just made a lot of pictures. Now, two years later, it all makes sense...
It was such an exciting time for me... getting married, travel to two major North American cities, seeing so much new stuff. Fabulous for sure, but late at night, when all the excitement would die down, my mind would wander off to the Netherlands to my friends and family... and a pain in my heart was felt.
Af for Knitting
After picking up all those stitches, I started with my rib section: knit 1, purl 1 with full twist, meaning that every knit stitch will be knitted in the back of the loop.
Now I am a fairly fast knitter, often times, my projects just fly off my needles and I make much progress. This k1, p1 ribbing with full twist, however, is so incredibly sloooooooooooooow. My word, it is killing me. What have I done, I ask myself. Why did I choose this painfully sloooooooooooow stitch????
When I see the results, though, I remember why... gasp, so beautiful! I love the crips and tight stitches! How pretty it looks. I am very very happy how this turns out.
Just a few more inches...sigh... and then I can start with the second section of my garment. So far, so good!